Judge in England Orders Madonna, Guy Ritchie to Settle Their Custody Dispute for Son Rocco in New York

by Rachel McRady
5:01 AM PDT, March 21, 2016

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Judge in England Orders Madonna, Guy Ritchie to Settle Their Custody Dispute for Son Rocco in New York

The custody battle for Rocco Ritchie has ended – in England, at least. On Monday, a U.K. judge called time on court proceedings across the pond, urging exes Madonna and Guy Ritchie to settle their custody dispute over their 15-year-old son, Rocco, out of court.

This new ruling means that future decisions about Rocco's residency will have to be decided in a New York court or through family mediation.

"I renew, one final time, my plea for both parents to seek and to find an amicable resolution to the dispute between them," Justice MacDonald said Monday according to court docs obtained by ET. "Most importantly, as I observed during the course of the hearing, summer does not last forever. The boy very quickly becomes the man. It would be a very great tragedy for Rocco if any more of the previous and fast receding days of his childhood were to be taken up by this dispute."

"Rocco's passport will be released to him for the purposes of travel at Easter," the document noted.

Madonna has been battling her director ex regarding where their teen son should reside since this past December. Rocco is currently living in London with his father, while his mother is desperate for him to return to live with her in New York. The pop star is currently on tour in Australia where her on-stage antics have been making headlines.

On Sunday night she wrapped the tour in Sydney, after exposing a 17-year-old fan's breast on stage and being accused of being drunk and high while performing in the past week. The "Material Girl" songstress later denied these claims.

Madonna has been publicly mourning the absence of her son. In February she posted a throwback photo on Twitter, writing, "Days of innocence. In Malawi. How I miss this time. #rebelhearts."